Summary from Goodreads:“You don’t know who I am,” I whispered. He didn’t move—either away from me, or closer—and after an interminable moment, I stepped back and hurried out of the house.

He didn’t follow me as I fled into the night.Lylin is not used to being alone—much less alone, hurt, and lost. So when she is separated from her guard and forced to abandon her horse, she counts herself lucky to stumble upon a manor house. Still frightened by those who chased her into the night, she keeps her identity a secret, calling herself Lily as she accepts the help of kind servants and the compassion of Lord Fallon. When they fall into an easy friendship, she wonders if her secrecy was too hasty. However, as she gets to know the manor and its residents, Lylin discovers that she’s not the only one hiding secrets, and it may be a very good thing that her host doesn’t know her true identity as a member of the royal family.

Missing Lily is an engaging and entertaining sequel to Just Ella (though it could be read as a standalone - but Just Ella was even better in my opinion, so really you should just go get that one too!)The synopsis describes the book well (I can't say much else without spoiling things!), so I'll move right on to my review.

The negatives:

Saw some twists coming. Some of the twists in the book (specifically the romantic ones) seemed fairly obvious - and a bit overly coincidental. But even though I figured out elements of what was going to happen, I still enjoyed the journey while the characters discovered these things.

Siblings. Lylin's sister Lorraina was somewhat irritating. She was purposely written that way, but by the end of the book I was supposed to feel sympathy for her, and I had a hard time with this shift. I pitied her somewhat, but I never really liked her much. Lord Fallon's brother is equally horrible and I could find very little redemption for him. I wish these characters had been written with more moments of humanity earlier in the story.

What I loved:

Lily. Like Lord Fallon, we first really get to know Princess Lylin as Lily. While we know who she actually is, Lylin is able to shed some of her regal bearing and her responsibilities as Lily. I could easily see how Lord Fallon would become smitten with her and how she would start to care for him in this environment where she felt more free than she'd ever felt before. Because of this, I felt a greater connection with Princess Lylin in later chapters, when she had to go back to being a princess.

The Letters. While Princess Lylin is staying with Lord Fallon, their feelings of friendship soon turn into something more. But their relationship is doomed from the start (I won't spoil why) and Lylin expresses her feelings in the only way she can - through a series of letters that she writes to Lord Fallon. Because she never intends to deliver these letters, she is able to write with a sense of abandon that she wouldn't otherwise have. She can put all of the royal niceties and proprieties aside and express all her fear, her pain, her anger and even her love. It was while she was writing these letters that I felt most keenly for Lylin. Her emotions are raw in a way that we would not otherwise be able to see. I loved that!

Duty vs. happiness. Like the previous book, Missing Lily explored the characters' struggle between duty and happiness. I loved that this book didn't give any simple answers - there wasn't an overall message that love should conquer all, leaving duty completely behind or that duty should completely overshadow personal happiness. Instead, this book explored the gray area in between these two extremes.

So, overall, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't love it quite as much as the first book, but it worked well as a sweet romance with some elements of suspense and danger. I give it 4/5 stars.

***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***

I was born in Utah, part of a crazy, fun family of nine. I grew up in Flagstaff, AZ and St. Louis, MO before striking out on my own college adventure in Virginia. I decided to try my hand at writing novels after I was married and living in Idaho. I write clean romance because it’s my favorite genre, but often difficult to find.I have Charlotte Bronte to thank for the courage to write novels. After being bombarded with assigned reading about women who justified abandoning either their families or their principles in the name of love, I had the great fortune of reading Jane Eyre. And that was it: finally a heroine who understood that being moral and making the right choice was hard, and sometimes it hurt, but it was still worth it. After rereading it several years later, I realized that if I wanted more books to exist with the kinds of heroines I admired, then I might as well write a few myself. My books are about women who face hard choices, who face pain and rejection and often have to sacrifice what they want for what is right. The consequences are often difficult or unpleasant, but it the end, doing what’s right will always be worth it.I believe there is no substitute for good writing or good chocolate. Fortunately, one often leads to the other.

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